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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

This deaf Australian Cattle Dog needs a rescue. He is negative for heartworm and is about 1.5 to 2 years old. He is in Vicksburg, Mississippi in a high kill shelter. JoJo is a beautiful sweet boy.

UPDATED INFORMATION: JoJo will be transported to Shannon Stevens of New Hope Australian Cattle Dog Rescue in Arizona (www.newhopecattledogs.com). If you are interested to adopt or foster JoJo, Shannon Stevens' contact information is Shannon@newhopecattledogs.com

For more information on how you can help rescue him, contact Debbie Lowery at paws@cablelynx.com.

There is a deaf catahoula dog at animal control in Monroe, LA. He desperately needs help to save his life. Here is his petfinder link (which doesn't say anything about him being deaf, but he is):

UPDATE INFORMATION:She is being transported from the shelter to Catahoula Rescue Inc. (www.catahoularescue.com) of Northeast. If you are interested to adopt or foster her, contact Tina Wright in Belfast, New York at angusno2001@yahoo.com.

There is a woman named Andria who will sponsor him (vetting, neuter, shots) and would possibly like to adopt him - she just can't take him right now. Please, please, please, let me know if you can think of anyone or anything that might help him. Contact me at: whitk227@cox.net.

Friday, April 20, 2007

I'm an ASL interpreter and I have 3 deaf Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs). We are all known as the L's because all our names begin with the letter L. My involvement with rescuing deaf JRTs began with Ludwig. With the help of my friends, Angela & Peter Hauser, I adopted Ludwig at 10 weeks old and little did I know this would change my life forever. I became involved with Russell Rescue and then with placing deaf JRTs with Deaf people across the United States.

Right now I have Ludwig, Listo and Lollipop. My sister's deaf JRT comes to visit and stays with me often - her name is Mia so at times I have up to 4 deaf Jacks in my house and contrary to popular belief, my dogs are not and have never been aggressive toward people. Yes, I have had some dog fights but that has been due to mulitple dogs and establishing dominance - never have any of them bit me or anyone else because they were startled, or aggressive toward humans. Deaf dogs are just as normal as the hearing ones the difference is not in the dog but in the human. If you adopt a deaf dog YOU need to make the accomodations for your dog and not blame the dog when YOU do not do what dog needs. If you are not fluent in ASL then you can make up your own home signs to communicate with your deaf dog. My sister does not know ASL but she has her own communication system with Mia. Consistency is the key and lots of love. I am so happy that we now have this web page to help all the other deaf animals in need!

If anyone wants to contact me my email is: deafjrt@aol.com The pictures are of my niece with Lollipop and my 3 deaf JRTs relaxing at my friends, Jules house, who also has a deaf JRT named Petey! I also have a hearing JRT/Chihuahua mix named Little bit and a hearing Retriever mix named Lucy Goosey. I am outnumbered 5 to 1. :)

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

In this ASL vlog, Raychelle introduces the Deaf Animal Row blog and discusses the parallels between the deaf community and deaf animals, and how our indifference can lead to the demise of the deaf community.

English transcription of Raychelle’s vlog by Katherine. The bold is Katherine’s addition to Raychelle’s English transcription of her vlog.

Hello! Welcome to our Deaf Animal Row blog/vlog. It is for deaf animals, who are on deathrow, across the United States. Many of deaf animals are put to sleep due to their inability to hear as a result of people’s ignorance. Often when deaf animals are born -- dogs, cats, ferrets or any other deaf animal -- some people are uncertain how to deal with deaf animals because they are used to aural/oral approach of raising and training an animal. In addition, some people view deaf animals as second class to hearing animals, unfortunately, and feel deaf animals are better off euthanized. Because of their lack of awareness of or exposure to the importance of gestural/visual based approach, deaf animals are set up to fail.

Here’s the definition for each label:

DEATHROW -- A limited time in a shelter before it is put to sleep. No time can be wasted.

RESCUE -- An organization or individual(s) that helps pull out an animal, who is in danger of being put to sleep, from the kill shelter and is safe while trying to look for a foster home or a permanent home.

FOSTER -- An individual offers her/his home to take care of the animal temporarily until adoption.

ADOPT -- An animal found a permanent home.

These labels are how it works with animals. Sometimes it goes from rescue to adopt, skipping foster or from deathrow to adoption. This website uses these labels, including euthanasia. Euthansia happens when no one adopts or rescues the deaf animal from the shelter and it is when the deaf animal will be put to sleep.

Some of you are concerned about how one can get a deaf animal that is not within your area. For example, you are from California and there’s one in Georgia you want to consider, but it is impossible to adopt or foster this deaf animal. Do not fret, there will be some people willing to volunteer their time to help transport the deaf animal from one place to another. This is common in the animal rescue world across the nation, so do not give up and work closely with them. I encourage you to think about it and seek assistance to get a deaf animal from one place to you. It can be worked out if you set your mind to it.

Now, if any one of you have something to share, be it article, stories, information, resources, your experience having a deaf animal, videos, anything you can think of that relates to deaf animals, do not hesitate to send us an email at:

DeafAnimalRow@gmail.com

I want you to know that having deaf animals in our lives is wonderful and they are no different than hearing animals except that it is our job to accommodate to their needs. We rely on lights, vibration, use of eyes, touching, etc. It is really amazing. How we, as deaf people, function in ways that differs from our hearing counterparts parallel to that of deaf animals vs. hearing animals.

Someone from the Deaf community mentioned that deaf animals are different and they’re not one of us or part of the Deaf community. I question that and want to discuss a bit about that. Deaf animals and people’s accommodations and experiences are similar when it comes to oppression and how they’re viewed by the hearing society. Deaf animals and deaf people both rely on gesutral and visual communication. We need to be receptive to the fact that deaf animals rely on visual accommodations rather than sound based approach in order to be on par with hearing animals. Deaf animals are indeed members of the Deaf community and are not to be excluded. Who are we to complain about exclusion by hearing society when we impose the same treatment on the very deaf animals?

Last point, do you remember the last time when www.deafread.com posted someone’s blog or vlog one month or two months ago about this poem by Lilly Benedict Crisman? See her ASL and English versions below:

Friday, April 13, 2007

If she had been born as a puppy to a bylaw-abiding member of the Dalmatian Club of America, Cathy Miller Saye would not be here today. Instead she — like the Dalmatians and other dogs she helps place in loving homes — would have been euthanized before leaving the nursery.

Cathy Miller Saye is deaf. And so are her dogs.

Cathy Miller Saye plays with one of her deaf dogs at a Marietta park. Deafness is more common in dogs with white coats.

"Being deaf can be a death sentence to a dog," said Saye, 42, who has been profoundly deaf since birth. "Breeders tend to put deaf dogs down because they think they will be unsalable. Shelters tend to put them down because they think no one will want them or they worry about liability issues. Potential adopters pass by deaf dogs in shelters because they worry that they won't have the skills to care for them." Hereditary deafness can appear in any breed.

Often linked to coat color, deafness more commonly afflicts dogs with mostly white or merle-patterned coats. Dalmatians top the list, with 10 percent to 12 percent of the breed born deaf, according to the DCA, which is adamant about the elimination of dogs it says are "hard to raise, difficult to control ... and often become snappish or overly aggressive."

But according to Saye and the people she has helped to adopt her "deafies," these special needs dogs are a special joy.

"The bond can be even stronger between a deaf dog and its owner," said Ali Moore, director of Bulldawg Rescue of Georgia, who offers deaf dog referral and training advice via SPOT, an alliance of rescuers, veterinarians and others dedicated to reducing the number of animals killed in Atlanta area animal shelters. "Deaf dogs might even be better at agility and obedience, because they're not distracted by sounds in the crowd."

Saye wasn't aware of the obstacles deaf dogs faced until she volunteered to help transport three deaf dogs from Georgia to a New England rescue shelter. The only hope for these dogs, the rescuer told her, was to move them out of the South where there were few safe havens for deaf dogs. Saye made it her mission to change that. In two years, volunteering with a network of rescue groups, the Kennesaw resident has helped almost 50 deaf dogs find homes.

"If we had more room, we would adopt more," said Dana Brooks, 27, who adopted Sky, a 3-year-old deaf Dalmatian abandoned outside an Alabama shelter after she'd given birth. Brooks and husband, Chris Guffey, were looking for a companion for their older Dalmatian when they found Sky through an Internet search. Saye introduced the family to Sky at their Alpharetta home.

"Even though Sky is deaf, she is not much different from our hearing dog," said Brooks. "We adopted her because she is such a loving dog and is very social with others. And we didn't want to see her be put to sleep."

Saye credits much of her success to her ability to train both dogs and potential adopters to hand signals — from "come" and "stay" to "ball," "car" and even "potty."

"Sky was our first pet to train, and she learned very quickly," said Brooks.

A thumbs-up and a smile means "good girl," while a pointed finger and stern _expression means "bad." A hand held palm up and lifted upward means "sit," while a hand held palm down and lowered means "down." Switching a light on and off, stomping feet or tossing a soft toy replace "come" or "stop" in many a deaf-dog home.

"Even though she's deaf, we both talk to her constantly, just like she can hear us," says Joe Duket, 57, of his Australian shepherd, Gracie.

The Smyrna resident and his wife, Ann, were looking for a companion for their Yorkshire terrier when Ann summoned Joe to a Southern Hope Humane Society adoption event at which Saye was volunteering.

"The attendant told me she was deaf, but that didn't dissuade me," Duket said of the young dog rescued from a South Alabama shelter. "It really didn't seem like a big deal at the time."

After more than a year, "It's been just like having a regular dog."A frequent visitor to Duket's workplace, "Gracie makes the rounds, saying hello to everybody, then quietly lies down in the doorway of my office so she can see what's going on."

Four-month-old Noelle, a deaf Australian cattle dog, was brought to a shelter in Ohio for being "too energetic." She was saved from death, Saye said, "in the nick of time." Rick Roberts' sister saw the dog at a Petsmart adoption event.

"She called and said how cute she was and, 'By the way, she's deaf,' " said the 39-year-old Ormewood Park resident. "I did pause some, but before I went to meet her I called my dog trainer and he said, 'Just take her through the same obedience classes your hearing dog went through and she'll be fine.' "

When Saye brought the dog to meet Roberts, "It was love at first sight.""She takes cues from my other dog a lot. If Bonnie barks, Noelle looks at her to gauge if it's an angry bark or a surprise, then she barks. And she watches me all the time."

This characteristic eye contact can create a unique dog-person connection, said Saye, "that only a person who has lived with a deaf dog can really appreciate."

"Cathy has a heart of gold," said Liz Francis of Marietta, a Southern Hope volunteer who has also owned and provided foster care for deaf Dalmatians. "I think because she's deaf she probably knows and understands what the animals go through, and she helps people understand them. She's there not only for the dog but for the family.""She provides a service because a lot of rescues won't deal with deaf dogs, but they're also very difficult to place," said Stacey Hall, president of Southern Hope Humane Society.

"Whatever breed a deaf dog is, it will be like any dog of that breed first, and deaf only second," said Saye. "Living with and training a deaf dog is just like living with and training a hearing dog, only you have to learn to talk with your hands and your body language instead of your voice."

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Due to popular demand, here's some shots of Ava the Super Deaf Cat in action! You'll see her tap my arm to get my attention. She's smaller than my other hearing cat, Taz, but she kicks his butt. My hearing sister says Ava has a Deaf 'meow' - not some horrible screech, but a cute Deaf meow. Enjoy :)

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I'm a completely deaf young female Jack Russell Terrier, but I can still hear your thoughts. For example, right now you're thinking, "Gosh, she's cute" and "I definitely want to adopt her." See, I'm good! I do know hand signals and I'm very friendly.

See the Union County Humane Society in Marysville, Ohio's website for more information on adopting Mina!

Monday, April 2, 2007

The owner died suddenly. The dogs are deaf. They are brothers and lived with other dogs and a cat. These dogs slept in the bed with their owner. Family cleaned out the house and the dogs went to a shelter. Can you help with these deaf ones?

JD

Specks

UPDATE INFORMATION: Contact Debbie at paws@cablelynx.com or June atversatilityranch@aol.com in a rescue organization they partnered in called Southern Paws Rescue in Vicksburg, MS for more information to adopt one of these deaf dogs. June has the deaf dogs with her.

In this vlog, Raychelle talks about deaf cats in general and the parallels in paternalism between deaf people and deaf cats. She then shares some experiences with her deaf cat, Ava and some video clips of Ava.

How do you get the attention of a deaf cat? Just like you do deaf people! Vibrations (from tapping floor, or a nearby object); Breeze (from flapping arm, newspaper, etc); Changing Lights/Shadows (from flashing lights, or blocking/unblocking the stream of sun/light); and of course by Touch (tapping, petting gently). Here are some urls if you'd like to investigate further. Do share your tips on how to "teach" Ava not to claw up furniture! :)